With the 2021 NFL Draft less than a week away, it’s almost time for teams around the league to bring in their next group of young players. After making a huge splash in free agency, the New England Patriots are one of the teams in the league that many are keeping an eye on with the draft quickly approaching.
Strapped with the No.15 overall pick in the first round, this is highest pick the Patriots have had since 2008 when they took Jerod Mayo 10th overall.
With the Pats probably still looking to add a quarterback to their roster, there is a high level of intrigue surrounding their status, as there’s a reasonable chance they look to move up or down on the board come draft day.
However, the Patriots need to be prepared to make a pick at No. 15 if they end up staying put, so here are five players they could look to add with their first round pick.
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New England Patriots selections at No. 15: Trevon Moehrig, Safety, TCU
Drafting Trevon Moehrig at the 15th overall pick may be a bit early, but Moehrig is looking like the top safety option in the draft and could be an option worth pursuing for New England.
Moehrig is a safety out of Texas Christian University who has quickly developed into one of the top defensive back prospects in the draft.
Moehrig’s true breakout season was in 2019, as he picked up 62 total tackles and four interceptions. He didn’t have as good a 2020 season, but still did enough to solidify his draft status as arguably the top safety available.
The TCU product projects as a more “true” safety, rather than the in-the-box, hybrid style safety that has become increasingly popular over the past couple of seasons. Moehrig is an exceptional coverage safety, excelling in both man and zone schemes. He has 20 pass breakups over the past two seasons combined, and has picked off seven passes throughout his time at TCU. While Moehrig isn’t a fantastic tackler, he more than makes up for that with his coverage skills.
Taking an initial look at the Patriots roster, it doesn’t seem like the safety position is much of a need for them. However, they’ve recently invested in guys like Kyle Dugger and Adrian Phillips, who fit the more hybrid style safety rather than a more traditional safety.
Devin McCourty is really the only true safety this team has, but he’s going to be 34 years old by the time the season starts. If the Patriots are looking to find McCourty’s potential replacement, Moehrig would be the top option in this draft.
New England Patriots selections at No. 15: Jaycee Horn, Cornerback, South Carolina
In a deep cornerback class, Jaycee Horn stands as at least the second best available, with draft analysts going back and forth between him and Patrick Surtain II.
It seems more likely that Horn will be around when the Patriots are on the clock, and he’s a perfect fit for the Patriots defense.
Horn is the son of former NFL wideout Joe Horn, and if he is still around when the Patriots are up to pick at 15, they may have to snag up the South Carolina standout.
Horn is a big physical cornerback who thrives in man-to-man coverage, but he has shown an ability to be successful in just about every coverage scheme he plays in. He would typically line up against the opposing team’s top wideout, and rarely let them get much breathing room.
While Horn only has two career interceptions in his time at South Carolina, he picked up at least 6 pass deflections in each season, so even when he gets targeted, it’s tough to get the ball by him. Horn does need to work harder in run defense, and his physical style of play could lead to the penalty flags flying, but those are things that can be worked out over time.
Similar to the safety position, the Patriots don’t appear to have too much of a need at cornerback at first glance. While things may change, Stephon Gilmore and J.C. Jackson are currently on one-year deals, and could be set to move on after next season. Horn’s physical profile is eerily similar to Gilmore’s, with both standing at 6-1 and a little over 200 pounds, and they both have very similar play styles.
If the Patriots are planning to move on from Gilmore, they could line up his potential replacement with Horn in this draft.
New England Patriots selections at No. 15: Devonta Smith, Wide Receiver, Alabama
Despite winning the Heisman trophy this past college season, Devonta Smith’s draft stock has only dropped since the end of the season.
With Ja’Marr Chase and Jaylen Waddle seemingly passing him on the draft board, nobody is really sure where Smith will end up.
Smith was easily the most productive wide receiver in all of college football last season (117 REC, 1856 YDS, 24 TDS), and if he falls to the Patriots, he would be a tough player to pass on.
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Looking at the numbers, there aren’t many holes you can poke in Smith’s game. A four year player at Alabama, Smith gradually improved through each season, before exploding this past season on his way to a Heisman trophy.
Smith is lightning fast, and he uses that ability to get himself open at will in all three levels of the field. But his small frame (6-0, 170 pounds) has left evaluators worried about his durability, and whether he will be bullied by larger cornerbacks in the NFL.
Despite adding tons of help in free agency, the Patriots didn’t really add to their wide receiver core, and with Julian Edelman recently announcing his retirement, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Patriots target a couple of wideouts in this draft class.
While there are some detractors to Smith’s play, he is clearly a high upside prospect who will be a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses if he can adapt to the NFL style of play. If the Patriots have the chance to add the most recent Heisman winner to their team at No.15, they should absolutely pick him up.
New England Patriots selections at No. 15: Micah Parsons, Linebacker, Penn State
Arguably the best defensive prospect available, Micah Parsons would be a perfect fit with the New England Patriots.
Parsons opted out of the 2020 season so that he could focus on preparing for the NFL Draft, and it hasn’t seemed to affect his draft stock whatsoever. Last time we saw Parsons was in 2019, when he was making plays all over the field for Penn State.
He racked up 109 tackles, five sacks, forced four fumbles, and also deflected five passes, showing how he can make an impact all over the field.
Parsons has all the qualities of a star linebacker as we have seen throughout his time in college. He is an athletic freak, as seen by his 4.39 40 yard dash time at his pro day, which allows him to make numerous tackles and stay in coverage with tight ends and running backs alike.
He can tackle, cover, rush the passer, and pretty much everything in between, making him the complete package. There have been some character concerns throughout his time at Penn State, but they don’t appear likely to ruin his draft stock too much.
There’s a good chance that Parsons won’t be around when the Patriots are first on the clock, but if he is they should absolutely look into picking him up.
The Patriots linebacker depth was sorely lacking last season, and while they are set to get Dont’a Hightower back after he opted out of the 2020 season, he is 31 years old, and won’t be around much longer.
Adding Parsons allows the Patriots to select their potential successor for Hightower, while also giving Parsons time to develop under one of the best linebackers in the game in Hightower.
New England Patriots selections at No. 15: Justin Fields, Trey Lance, or Mac Jones, Quarterback
Let’s make this very clear; if any of these three players are on the board when the New England Patriots pick at 15, everything else goes out the window.
The Patriots are in desperate need of their quarterback of the future, and if one of these three guys falls to them at 15, they absolutely have to add them. It seems very unlikely that New England will trade up to secure one of them at this point, but who knows, maybe they won’t have to.
At this point, Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson are going to go 1 and 2, and if something goes awry it will be a shock. From there on out, nobody knows how things will go.
The San Francisco 49ers presumably will take one of these three guys with the third pick, but nobody has any idea who that will be.
Between the 4-14 picks, that will leave two of the top five QB’s left, and New England will have their fingers crossed that one of them will fall to them.
While Bill Belichick and co. probably have a favorite among Justin Fields, Trey Lance, and Mac Jones, it ultimately won’t matter unless they move up in the draft.
Realistically they will be lucky to pick up the leftovers from the top 5 quarterbacks available at 15, as there are a couple of teams, such as the Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions, and Carolina Panthers, that may be looking for a QB and are picking ahead of New England.
However, if any of these guys are available when New England is on the clock, they have to pick them up and add their quarterback of the future.